Microsoft has been working on a voice narrator app called ‘Speak for me” that would read the inputted text aloud. But unlike the robotic voices you hear in most voice assistants, Speak for Me offers a more natural-sounding voice. It also has a Personal voice option that you can use to create your voice avatar and read out text in your voice.
Speak for Me isn’t directly available in the Windows 11 Build 26063, but it is possible to turn it on by making changes to the OS. So, what exactly is Speak for Me? In our tests, we observed that the feature allows you to create a synthetic voice that can read text out loud in a way that resembles their voice or a preferred type of voice.
This could be useful for people who want to listen to documents or emails read out loud, or for those who cannot speak and wish to communicate using a voice that sounds like their own. You’ll find the ‘Speak for me’ app in the Start menu or the Accessibility page in Settings, but it requires you to “create your voice” through a wizard process:
- To get started, search “Speak for me” in the Start menu and click Select a natural voice option. You can also pick the ‘My personal voice’ option to create your voice avatar.
- Select a language from the list. Then pick any one voice type. For example, if you chose English (India), you might get different options like “Microsoft Neerja” to select a voice that sounds natural to that region.
- You can now customize the feature by naming it and previewing the sound. If you’re satisfied with the quality, click Download and install option.
- The next screen allows you to customize the voice’s parameters like speed, pitch, and volume to better match your personal speaking style.
Once done, you type the text and click the Speak button to read it aloud.
Initially, the feature didn’t produce any voice and seemed to be stuck. However, after a few attempts, it started working properly. The narration voice has a surprisingly natural sound quality.
If you want to create a personal voice, you only need to read a few sentences to set it up
You can only pick from eight languages: English, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. You can also use the Windows + Ctrl + T shortcut to launch Speak for me.
Windows 11 24H2 will have multiple useful features
Speak for me isn’t the only interesting change in Windows 11 24H2.
The next big Windows 11 update will pack multiple new features. One is an improved context menu for File Explorer with a label below the common file actions like Copy, Paste, etc.
In addition, accessibility features like voice clarity, mic test, pointer indicator, and hearing aid support will also be included in the update.
Microsoft has already integrated Copilot into Notepad, which can help you summarize the highlighted text using Copilot. Widget boards, notification badges for icons, better Bluetooth discoverability, and exclusions of non-useful apps like Cortana, Mail, Calendar, Maps, People, and Movies & TV.
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